Alex Raymond

After studies at the Grand Central School of Art, Alexander Gillespie Raymond started working with Russ Westover (creator of 'Tilly the Toiler'). Shortly after, he transfered to Lyman Young ('Tim Tyler's Luck'), from 1930 to 1933. In 1932 and 1933, he ghosted both Young's daily strips and Sunday pages of 'Tim Tyler'. At the end of 1933, Raymond was asked by King Features Syndicate to create a Sunday page featuring two new characters, 'Flash Gordon' and 'Jungle Jim'. In addition, Alex Raymond signed on to draw 'Secret Agent X9', a daily strip scripted by Dashiell Hammett. All three creations started in January, 1934.

By the end of 1935, Alex Raymond stopped with 'Secret Agent X9' to spend more time on his Sunday features. In particular, 'Flash Gordon' became world famous. In 1944, Raymond joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Demobilized as a major in 1946, Raymond created in that same year 'Rip Kirby', a daily police strip, which also enjoyed enormous success. Alex Raymond died at the height of his fame, on 6 September 1956, after a car accident.

Alex Raymond's influence on other cartoonists was considerable during his lifetime, and has not diminished after his death. The 'Flash Gordon' newspaper strip was continued by artist Jim Keefe.

Alex Raymond about his comic art:

"I decided honestly that comic art is an art form in itself. It reflects the life and times more accurately and actually is more artistic than magazine illustration - since it is entirely creative. An illustrator works with camera and models; a comic artist begins with a white sheet of paper and dreams up his own business - he is playwright, director, editor and artist at once."